Department to inspect complex without water

A Jacksonville man is stepping up to help dozens of senior citizens living without water. Monday he dropped off cases of water to their apartment complex in downtown Jacksonville. Dozens of seniors say they've been without it for almost FOUR weeks. As Channel 4's Ashley Mitchem tells us-- the STATE is now looking into the problem.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

Dozens of residents at a downtown senior apartment complex are still without water, and people who live there said this has been the case for nearly four weeks.

Residents at Senior Citizen Village Apartments at West Fourth and Davis streets said as many as 36 units have been affected.

News4Jax notified the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation of the situation, and now the agency is looking into the problem.

Management would not comment at the complex on Monday.

Seniors said they've complained to management but have not gotten anywhere.

A spokeswoman for the DBPR said in a statement: "Though I am unable to comment on this particular instance without the department having an opportunity to perform an inspection, generally speaking, violations like the one you describe would warrant a high-priority violation being noted on an inspection in which case, the licensee would typically receive 24 hours to correct the violation before administrative action is taken."

The department said it is planning to conduct an inspection as soon as possible so it can assess the situation.

The Department of Elder Affairs has also been contacted to ensure the health hazard will be resolved as quickly as possible.

But until a decision is made by DBPR, residents are left wondering how much longer they'll have to improvise to get water in their apartment.

When Andre Jarrell heard the story, he decided to step up and help.

"I can't believe that was actually happening and that it's been this long that the seniors were out of water," Jarrell said.

Jarrell dropped off 30 cases of water and five cases donated by Winn-Dixie to go toward the seniors in need of water.

"It is different being a senior. They have paid their dues," Jarrell said. "It's up to us, the generation now, to step in and help the seniors and do all that we can to make sure they are being taken care of."

Residents said management gave them a notice last week saying the water would be shut off for repairs, but they have yet to hear when those repairs will be complete.

The DBPR said it doesn't want to shut down the complex because it would leave people displaced. Instead, it's looking for a way to solve the issue while the water problem is repaired.

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